One Month Challenge: Dining In, Week 1

Megan- Penn State

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month, we watched Melanie push herself to work out every day. This month, Megan is gonna go 4 weeks without eating out. Can she handle the heat of the kitchen??]

I’ve decided to challenge myself to not eat out for the entire month of December. And only 4 days in, I’ve already got a hunger for some delicious food that doesn’t require me cooking. Let’s not forget that the only dishes I can cook successfully are Kraft Mac and Cheese and Cup O’Noodles.

So what led me to this crazy decision? No, not a sugar induced high, but Mint.com. Looking over my Mint account, I started to notice a trend. My “Restaurants” numbers were always ridiculously high and one of the top things I spend money on, month after month. To be honest, until I was trying to figure out where I could cut spending (thank you, student loans), I had never realized how often I eat out and just how much of my money I spend on food. What’s even more disgusting is that I know I’ve spent cash (lots of it!) on food as well, I just don’t have the documented proof staring at me from my computer screen.

The other reason I wanted to try this challenge was to force myself to have to cook. I know that one day I am going to be a real human being and I’m going to have to know my way around a kitchen. Unfortunately, that time is coming more quickly than I’d like and I can’t live on microwavable noodles forever.

Being the busy (and lazy) girl that I am, I’ve grown accustomed to coming home after a long day of class and work and just running out to grab fast food or picking up my phone and ordering delivery. Now that I don’t have that as an option, I’ll finally get around to finding and trying out some recipes. I always read the awesome recipes posted here on CollegeCandy and now I’ll have no choice but to try some out!

Let’s hope I don’t burn my kitchen down.
Or starve when I mess up every single thing I attempt to cook.

Now, all that being said, I did set one exception to my “no dining out” goal and that involves gettin’ my drank on. Although I’m not eating out, I’m still going to drink out. Going out to bars is a huge part of my social life and if I can’t have food, I’m gonna need some yummy drinks. BUT! I promise no drunken food, at least not until I get home. (Pizza bagels, here I come!)

I can’t wait to keep you updated on this challenge and hope that some of you will join me along the way. It won’t be easy, but I’m hoping it will pay off….literally.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go raid my kitchen and pack a lunch for tomorrow.